Tethers Read online

  “A guide?” I frowned. “He already knows how to see spirits.” And more.

  “It’s not about seeing them.”

  Emmett looked from one of us to another, confusion clouding his features. I was confused, too. Melody’s seemingly instant dislike of me was definitely mutual.

  Melody sighed when Emmett frowned at her. “It can be dangerous for young mediums. They can have out-of-body experiences and see spirits as a part of them. Sometimes, they get too engrossed with the spirit world to return.”

  That immediately made me think of Shepherd, who had once sent me back into my own world after I got stuck in another plane of existence. “You’re teaching him control?”

  “Something like that,” she said. “He’s so young and so powerful that it would be a shame to see so much talent go to waste. If directed properly, he could be a very successful medium professionally.”

  I gave Emmett a sceptical look. “You want this to be your job? Talking to ghosts?”

  Melody made a frustrated sound through gritted teeth.

  “I just want to know more,” Emmett said. “I don’t know anyone else like me. Melody can answer my questions. ’Sides, she says it’s dangerous for someone like me to go it alone.”

  And Peter was agreeing to Melody’s plans? Letting in other people when it came to Emmett didn’t sound like Peter. Then again, he kept saying he was changing. Maybe the whole “spirit guide” thing was part of it.

  “Well, we have a lot to do today,” Melody said, drawing Emmett toward her, out of my reach.

  A flash of red-hot emotion burned my chest. I swallowed it. “I’ll see you later, Emmett. Don’t forget to tell your dad I need to speak to him.”

  “I’ll let him know,” Melody said with a weak version of a smile. She ushered Emmett inside and slammed the door behind her.

  Baffled by the entire day’s events, I turned around and walked away, choking on the waves of emotion wrestling to the surface. What was I even feeling? Confused, yes. Protective, probably. But something else was mixed in there, something entirely unexpected.

  Peter had moved on and let somebody new into his life. Emmett had someone other than me to turn to, someone he probably needed even more than he needed me. Keeping everyone I cared about so close wasn’t healthy, and that was why I hadn’t made a move to stop the twins from leaving or even to discourage Val and Leah from following. But everyone in my life seemed to have found a new path. Carl had the school to contend with, Anka had her business with Margie up and running, and even Peter and Emmett had this Melody person in their lives. Peter had let her take care of Emmett when I was free, without even introducing her to me. Everyone had moved on, but for the past year, I had been running in place.

  And maybe that was really why I’d said yes to Willow and why I felt so eager to put Mac in his place. I needed a project just for me. Being the Matriarch hadn’t exactly made my life busy so far, despite my memorable first try. Something was missing from my life, and I hadn’t been able to quite put my finger on what that was.

  And as I returned to my own house, I finally recognised the feelings that had engulfed me at Peter’s doorstep in front of Melody bloody Love, the so-called medium. For the first time, and completely unexpectedly, I had been experiencing out-and-out human jealousy. Damnit.

  Chapter Two

  A hammer, or maybe a tank, tried to break down my front door a few days later, pulling me from a nice, warm, non-annoying dream. Bleary-eyed, I glanced at my watch and discovered it was still stupid o’clock. I sat up and pulled on some clothes, noting that dawn was trying to break through on the horizon. The banging repeated, somehow echoing all across the cul-de-sac. Concerned, I looked out the window. Figures stood at every front door in the cul-de-sac, obnoxiously attempting to wake the entire neighbourhood.

  Oh, hell no.

  Furious, I sprinted down the stairs as the banging on my door resumed. I swung open the front door, my fangs on display. My appearance forced the two men at my door to simultaneously take a step back, their apprehension stinking the air.

  “What in the hell is so important that you have to wake everyone up before the bloody sun rises?” I demanded.

  “There she is,” Mac called out in an unbelievably smug tone. “Step aside, boys. I’ll deal with her.” He strode into my garden, holding up a piece of paper. “I’m acting under the authority of the Irish Senate to take your shifter friend into custody. Esther is mine, and the Senate agrees.” He shoved the paper at me.

  I ripped it out of his hands. It was some kind of permit, freshly stamped with the Senate seal. “Who did this?”

  He leaned forward until his nose nearly touched mine. “I did this, little lady, so you had better get used to it.”

  “Who did you bribe and threaten for this crap?” I asked, fighting the urge to crumple the paper in my hands.

  “This is the law,” he said. “It’s the law of my people, the law of the shifters, and now it’s the law of the entire country. My traditions supersede any crap you human-lovers can come up with.”

  “So find Aiden! Leave Esther out of this!”

  “Oh, it’s not just about retribution anymore. I warned you not to push me, and now you’re five steps behind. While you’ve been making enemies, I’ve been making allies.” His sneer grew excited. “The fact that Aiden might return to save his precious sister is just a bonus. He turned us from our true path, from our true ways. He let shifters leave the pack, and—”

  “Oh, noes. He was such a monster.”

  He ground his teeth noisily. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not the only one who knows what happens when shifters go untethered for too long.”

  “Do I look like someone who knows what the hell you’re on about?”

  He lowered his voice, his eyes sparking with passion. “Esther is a danger to the people of this country because she is untethered. She is without pack, and shifters without a pack—and more importantly without an alpha—are vicious, unpredictable, and feral.”

  “Wow. Esther should feel honoured that you made up that little spiel just for her.”

  “It’s not made up!”

  “Oh, please. Vicious, unpredictable, and feral? You just described yourself.”

  “I am alpha,” he bellowed. “The untethered have long been a cause for concern, and Aiden let it get out of hand. Now that I’m in charge, I’m prepared to rein in high-risk shifters.”

  “High risk because she doesn’t want to join your little pack? Give me a break, Mac. Even you can do better than that.”

  “Ignorant little half-breeds should do their homework before opening their mouths. I’m pushing for a return to the old laws forbidding the untethered. Your little friend is dangerous. We need to avoid any more incidents before even more Irish citizens flee the country in terror.”

  “Seriously? You’re blaming emigration on Esther? Nothing to do with the incompetence of the previous governments or the recession or any number of fucking serious reasons! Get a grip. This is personal for you. What’s wrong? Are you afraid she’ll try to take the alpha role from you?”

  “As if a woman could,” he said. “There’s never been a female alpha in Ireland, and there’s never been one as broken as Esther. Don’t think I haven’t heard about her brain damage.”

  I rolled my eyes. “If she isn’t a threat, why can’t you back off?”

  “You don’t have people,” he said, lowering his voice. “You don’t understand what we must do to protect them.”

  “This isn’t protecting anyone. It’s just causing more problems!”

  “This is the only choice, and higher powers are ready to back me up. I was willing to give you a chance, but you’ve gone against me far too many times. I can’t sit back and wait any longer. I’m coming for Esther, whether you like it or not, and I have permission to search every building in this neighbourhood.”

  “Leave the rest of them alone. Please.” Swallowing my anger killed me. “Esther isn
’t here. You can look in my place all you want, but this has nothing to do with the rest of these people.”

  He smiled. “Should have thought about that before you decided not to cooperate, Delaney. This is what your smart mouth earned you.” He raised his hands. “Go to it, lads. No need to be gentle.”

  His shifter duo pushed me aside and strode into my house. Something inside of me broke. I didn’t see the point of signing away a century of my life to a secret group of powerful people if they couldn’t even stop my home from being invaded. I made to follow, but Mac got in my way. I resisted the urge to back away from him. Even his scent was obnoxious.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he said. “I know your kind. Go whine somewhere else.”

  “If they break anything, they’re paying for it,” I retorted.

  I headed out of my garden and toward Peter, who was having a raging argument with the shifter attempting to gain entry to his home.

  “You can’t just come into my house!” he shouted. Emmett’s pale, worried face peeked out from behind him in the hallway.

  “The quicker you let them in, the quicker they’ll be gone,” I said, but I really wanted to punch the shifter out.

  “Thank you,” the shifter said, looking embarrassed when Peter finally stepped aside.

  “What the hell is this?” Peter asked me, holding Emmett close.

  “Mac asserting his power,” I said. “It’ll be over soon,” I added for Emmett’s benefit.

  We moved into the centre of the road to group up with other dismayed residents.

  Carl strode toward us. At well over six feet, he looked every inch of his height while angry. “He’s trying to fucking dominate us. He might as well start humping our legs.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t go that far,” I tried to joke.

  My normally mild-mannered best friend’s cheeks had turned puce. “I hate this prick.”

  “I hate shifters.” Peter absentmindedly scratched his three-day-old stubble. “I’ve decided.”

  “Esther’s a shifter. So is Val. Think again,” I said.

  “They’re not like this. Even Aiden wasn’t like this,” he said. “Who does Mac think he is?”

  “He got permission from the Senate.” I shrugged. “Looks like the Senate’s against us now.”

  “Worst thing that ever happened to us was Shay retiring from the Senate,” Carl said. “Is this really about punishing Esther? It just seems so ridiculous.”

  “It’s personal,” I said. “But he has a new excuse. Esther’s untethered from a pack, and untethered shifters go wild or some crap like that. He reckons she’s a danger now, and apparently, the Senate agrees. Oh, and some mysterious higher power is going to back up the shifters. Willow was just here a few days ago. Why didn’t she warn me?”

  “I’m going to call Shay,” Carl said. “See if he can do something.”

  I looked at Peter. “I doubt he can. Not now.”

  Peter was still staring at his house, his mouth twisted into a grimace. “I reckon Mac did this without most of the Senate knowing. All he needs is the majority vote, right?”

  “Looks that way. But he would have to bring it to the entire Senate, no?”

  Peter shrugged. “Things have changed.”

  “Never thought I’d wish Elathan would come back,” I said. And Phoenix.

  Peter pulled Emmett closer. “He’s always had a soft spot for Esther, but he doesn’t seem interested in actually leading anything here.”

  “I know.” I glanced at him. “I met Melody, by the way.”

  “Yeah.” His gaze shifted away from mine. “I texted you when I got back.”

  “I had already vented to Carl by then.” I bit my lip. “So Emmett needs a guide?”

  “Yeah, I kind of… bumped into Melody on a job last October. She filled me in on the dangers of him becoming a wanderer.”

  “A wanderer?”

  “A kid who’s more into death than life and walks with the spirits until they sort of lose their way home.”

  “Sounds scary.”

  “It is. But he seems okay, right?”

  “He’s definitely happy,” I said. “Are you?”

  He gave me a sharp look and opened his mouth to speak, but a loud crashing sound from inside my home stopped him.

  “Oh, no, they bloody well didn’t!” I raced over to my house.

  Mac, along with a pair of oversized shifters at his shoulders, blocked my way. “Now, now,” he said, unable to contain his smile. “Let the boys do their job.”

  “They’re wrecking my house!”

  He shrugged. “Accidents happen.”

  “That’s my… there are sensitive relics in there. You can’t just barge in and wreck the place because you have a bone to pick with someone who knows me.”

  He closed the space between us. Up close, his eyes looked wild, as though his average-looking body could barely contain his animal half. I shivered at the void staring back at me, wondering how the hell the shifters had managed to find an alpha who actually beat Aiden as the worst shifter of all time.

  “You don’t have a choice,” he said in a distinctly growly voice. “What are you going to do? Take on the Senate? There’s nobody left with a soft spot for you. We’ve cut the wheat from the chaff already, Delaney, and you’re the one left lacking. Now back away before I teach you what an alpha truly is.”

  “You wouldn’t know what an alpha truly was if one beat the shift out of you right now,” I spat. “Get out of my house, Mac.”

  “You think you can take on the entire pack?” he asked, chuffing softly. “Do you think the innocent little children would survive that?”

  Shocked by the overt threat, I froze. Then the heat came, burning my veins with a longing for violence. Blood pounded in my ears, and I took a step forward, sending the alpha back a step. “Do not threaten the people I care about, Mac. That might be dangerous, even for the worst alpha.” I held his gaze, seething with fury, and he dropped his first. Some alpha he is.

  He quickly recovered. “She threatens me.” He barked out a laugh. “And she thinks that Esther is the end of the line.” He poked my shoulder. “I’m just starting with Esther, but after that, I’m coming back. You’re hiding the most pathetic bunch of mongrels here, and I won’t have it. You crossed me, tried to make a fool out of me, and now you’ll pay.”

  “You’ve been imagining confrontations with me.” I steeled myself as his face reddened. I couldn’t fall into his trap and attack him first, even if my fangs were itching to appear. “Is it playing out the way you hoped?”

  He gripped the collar of my shirt, his pupils dilating.

  My fangs did break through then, and I caught the scent of Mac’s fear.

  “Mac!” Shay shouted.

  The ugly alpha let go and shoved me back a step, mostly to save face.

  My fangs retracted as I looked over my shoulder. My Garda friend was surrounded by pairs of the integration agents under his command, at least two of whom were shifters. None of them looked as though they felt any comradery with Mac.

  “And what do you want, human?” Mac asked, folding his arms across his chest.

  Shifters’ hearts beat at a faster rate than humans’ did, but I was struggling to count Mac’s. He was in fight-or-flight mode.

  “You’ve gotten your money’s worth,” Shay said, his voice uncharacteristically cold. “Now leave. You didn’t find Esther. I highly doubt she’s hiding behind the bookcases.”

  Mac strode over to Shay, getting in his face. The shifters on Shay’s team moved to block the way. The male looked down at Mac, unflinching. I didn’t understand why Mac wasn’t calling them untethered. They obviously weren’t loyal to the pack anymore.

  Mac scoffed before waving his hands. “Come on, boys. We’ll be back for the second round soon.”

  I glared at the shifters still loitering in my hallway. “You heard him. Get out.”

  They reluctantly followed Mac, who exchanged a few more barbs with
Shay’s shifters before showing signs of actually leaving.

  Shaking his head, Shay met me halfway across the cul-de-sac. “Everyone all right?” he asked.

  “He threatened the kids.” I folded my arms across my chest. “And he had a stupid piece of paper telling me that I couldn’t do anything about him. I was powerless. I hate him.”

  “We’ll make sure they all leave.” He avoided my eyes. “If there’s anyone you need to go see today, you might not want to use the front door.”

  I nodded gratefully to him and his team as they escorted the shifters out of the cul-de-sac. Shay might have distanced himself from us over the last few months, but I could count on him in a crisis. And Mac counted as a crisis.

  I signalled to Peter then stepped into my house. The shifters had trashed the place. I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat as I walked right through and out to my back garden. I soundlessly climbed the wall, too full of anger to worry about falling off. Mac had come into my territory and threatened my people. I had to figure out a way to deal with him before he destroyed everything. I jumped off the wall, barely missing a thick hedge, and ran through the property behind my house. Though it looked abandoned, I secretly owned it.

  I ran through thigh-tall grass as best I could, counting each step to focus my boiling rage, then rushed through a small wooded area. I finally reached the back roads that would eventually lead me to a block of flats. Being forced to go to such lengths to visit a friend was ridiculous, but the world wasn’t as safe as I’d imagined it would be. We had changed everything, and yet so much had stayed the same.

  I ran, careful to make sure I wasn’t being followed, and had calmed down significantly by the time I reached the place where Moses lived. A couple of women waved at me, giving me warm smiles that drove away the cold Mac had embedded into my chest. He’d made me feel vulnerable, but worse, he had surprised me. I hated that. I knew the nearby brethni would sound a warning if Mac finally figured out that he should search the flats—that was the only reason I had agreed with Esther when she wanted to return there when Mac became troublesome. I had wanted to ask Val if Esther could stay in the sanctuary, but I wasn’t sure where Phoenix would stand on that matter, so I left the half-hellhound out of it. At least for now.